Sarri accused his Chelsea players of a collective “blackout” at the first sign of trouble against Fulham, despite a 2-0 win, and against Wolves.

The Italian said: “We have a problem to manage the match at the moment. In the last two matches we played well for 55, 60 minutes, then the first difficulty we went in blackout.

“In the first match (against Fulham) we were lucky because they didn’t score. In the last match (at Wolves) we were a little bit unlucky. For the opponents, five shots, only two on target. We conceded two goals.”

Sarri struggled to explain the reason for the lapses.

He added: “It’s not really very easy to answer. We didn’t react as a team (but) as 11 players. In 11 different ways. So it’s a big problem. We were not able to have the right determination to win the match.”

Jorginho is expected to return for Chelsea against Manchester City (Adam Davy/PA)

Playmaker Jorginho is expected to return after being rested against Wolves.

Sarri’s selection of Jorginho at the base of his central midfield, with N’Golo Kante further forwards, has been scrutinised.

The Blues boss has explained his reasoning and says the choice is only being questioned due to the defeats.

Sarri added: “The problem is only the results. When we won, the position of N’Golo was ‘good’. So it’s only down to the results.

“At the moment, we’re not winning so it’s normal that some players are playing very badly, some players are in the wrong position.

“I explained why, usually, Kante plays in that position. I have my opinion. I can understand that you or someone else doesn’t agree. But I explained very well why.”